About Undertow

About Undertow Music Collective
The Undertow Music Collective began in 1996 as a group of independent-minded folks sharing ideas and resources. We work closely with a select roster of artists we love, respect, and call our friends. Our goal is to create a friendly and productive environment for these people to make music while keeping their integrity and artistic vision intact. We opened our mail order store in 1998 to help our bands sell their stuff on-line. A few boxes of CDs and t-shirts stacked in the corner of a spare room has grown into a full-time job over the last few years. We've been able to expand our store by offering great music and exclusive merchandise at the lowest possible prices with world-class customer service. We have shipped tens of thousands of orders to people all over the world.

Where Does The Money Go?
80% of profits from sales go directly to the artists. When you buy from our store, you're directly supporting artists who make music you care about. 

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Who We Are
Please contact us if you have any questions about the stuff we sell or issues with your order. We’re always happy to help!

Bob Andrews
Bob grew up in Nashville and got his start in the music business in 1991 working at the historic Hewgley’s Music Shop. In 1993, he stumbled into a job as tour manager for Uncle Tupelo through a friend and worked with the band until their final show in 1994. He continued as tour manager for Wilco during the recording and touring of their debut album in 1995. Needing a break from constant touring, he joined his friends at Undertow in 1996 to help create a DIY record label and artist management collective. 

Jayne Ballantyne
Jayne is a native of southern Illinois where she was involved in a number of musical and theatrical productions. She eventually moved to central Illinois to finalize her college career at Millikin University and emerged with a bachelor’s in Music Business. Starting out as an Undertow intern in 2014, she assisted on a number of projects before taking over the day-to-day management of our Living Room operations. In her spare time Jayne enjoys cooking, cat photos, and smashing the patriarchy.

Ward Gollings
Ward is a long-time friend who joined Undertow in 2016 after many years of running venues, tour management and production for festivals. He overseas mail order operations and touring logistics for our artists. We can’t decide if he’s a Ninja or a Jedi. Either way, we’re happy he’s here.

Environmental Stuff
We try our best conserve energy and recycle as much as possible. The only paper we generate during the order process is the packing slip we put inside your order. We use highly efficient LED lighting in our office and warehouse space. Our HVAC system is a highly efficient system that's controlled by a Ecobee smart thermostat and our electricity comes from 100% renewable sources. The mailers we use for shirts are light-weight poly material made from recycled plastics. We like these because they're water proof, tear resistant, reusable. Record mailers and poster tubes we use are made from recycled cardboard and can be easily reused and recycled. 

Get in Touch!
e-mail: hello@undertowstore.com
We'll get back to you as quickly as possible.

Or call us if you prefer. Phone: 217-359-0622

There might be a delay if you email or call outside of normal business hours.
We're usually in the office Monday through Thursday. 10am to 6pm (Central Time).